After the success of Daredevil, Netflix may be working on a spinoff series which features The Punisher. Former Walking Dead star Jon Bernthal is already set to portray Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, in season 2 of Daredevil which is slated for March 18 release. According to a TV Line report, The Punisher’s series is already in development.
In an interview with EW, Bernthal said he went to as “dark of place as possible” to bring The Punisher’s character to life for the next season of Daredevil. Bernthol also said he really respected the first season of Daredevil because of its comic authenticity. “This is a guy who means a lot to a lot of people and his character has resonate with law enforcement and military.”
When talking about Frank Castle, Bernthal explained his personal story is a “slow burn” and will suspensefully develop throughout the season. “He’s a guy who brought the war home with him [in] the worst possible way. There are a lot of iterations of this character and in all of them it’s a man who’s gone through this unbelievable trauma and what’s interesting about our take on him is how this trauma reshapes his own philosophy.”
Bernthal also said he trained with the military and “a lot of weapons” to prepare for Frank Castle’s character. “As this character develops into what he becomes, he becomes more violent and more raw.” However, he said the emotional aspect was more important, particularly trying to recreate the “emptiness inside him.”
“He’s dealing with this unbelievable loss. There’s unbelievable anger and hatred and shame,” Bernthal added in the EW interview.
For the first few months of filming, Bernthal said he walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to the set each morning hoping to “shed any outside influence of joy.” He’s hoping as fans watch season 2, they will “go back and forth” about how they feel about The Punisher’s actions. “The best thing about the character is he just doesn’t care. It’s a highly personal mission he’s on and if he offends you, it’s completely unimportant to him.”
Bernthal was hesitant to reveal any specific details, but concluded “If you thought last season of Daredevil was dark, we’re going to a whole new place.” The first season was one of the top rated shows on Netflix, with over 10 percent of subscribers tuning in to at least one episode within the first 11 days of its release. If Netflix follows through with a series starring The Punisher, that would be the sixth Marvel show for the cord cutting streaming service.
